[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of
the Village of Pleasant Prairie 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-53.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The management of stormwater and other surface water
discharges within and beyond Village borders is a matter that affects
the public health, safety and welfare of the Village, its citizens
and businesses and others in the surrounding area. The development
of land increases impervious surfaces and results in increased stormwater
runoff. Failure to effectively manage this increased stormwater runoff
affects the sanitary sewer utility operations of the Village by, among
other things, increasing the likelihood of infiltration and inflow
in the sanitary sewer. In addition, surface water runoff may create
erosion of lands, threaten businesses and residences with water damage
and create sedimentation and other environmental damage in the Village.
B.
The federal Water Pollution Control Act also known
as the "Clean Water Act," requires communities to manage stormwater
in accordance with federal and state regulations.
C.
The cost of operating and maintaining a utility to
manage stormwater, ensuring regulatory compliance, and financing necessary
plans, studies, repairs, replacements, improvements and extension
thereof should, to the extent practicable, be allocated in relationship
to the benefits enjoyed and services received therefrom.
A.
In order to protect the health, safety and welfare
of the public, the Village Board is exercising its authority to establish
the Village of Pleasant Prairie Clean Water Utility and set the rates
for stormwater utility services.
B.
The operation of the Clean Water Utility shall be
under the supervision of the Village Administrator. The Public Works
Director or Village Engineer will be in charge of the Clean Water
Utility.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
C.
The Village is acting under the authority of Chapters
61 and 66 of the Wisconsin Statutes, and particularly without limitation
the following sections: §§ 61.34, 61.35, 61.36, 66.0621,
60.0627, 66.0701, 66.0703, 66.0809, 66.0811, 66.0813 and 66.0821,
Wis. Stats.
A.
Facilities. The Village, through the Clean Water Utility,
may acquire, construct, lease, own, operate, maintain, extend, expand,
replace, clean, dredge, repair, conduct, manage and finance such facilities
as are deemed by the Village to be proper and reasonably necessary
for a system of storm and surface water management. These facilities
may include, without limitation by enumeration, surface and underground
drainage facilities, sewers, watercourses, retaining walls and ponds
and such other facilities as will support a stormwater management
system.
B.
Rates and charges. The Village, through the Clean
Water Utility, may establish such rates and charges as are necessary
to finance planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation
of the facilities in accordance with the procedures set forth in this
chapter. The rates and charges will be established by resolution.
C.
Budgeting process. The Village, through the Clean
Water Utility, shall prepare an annual budget, which is to include
all operation and maintenance costs, debt service and other costs
related to the operation of the Clean Water Utility. The costs shall
be spread over the rate classifications as determined by the Board.
The budget is subject to the public hearing and approval process,
set forth in § 65.90, Wis. Stats.
D.
Excess revenues. The Village will retain any excess
of revenues over expenditures in a year in a segregated clean water
fund which shall be used exclusively for purposes consistent with
this chapter.
In this chapter, the following terms have the
meanings set forth below:
Lands related to or used for the production of food and fiber,
including, but not limited to, general farming, livestock and poultry
enterprises, grazing, nurseries, horticulture, viticulture, truck
farming, forestry, sod production, cranberry productions and wild
crop harvesting and includes lands used for on-site buildings and
other structures necessary to carry out such activities.
Any natural or man-made stormwater conveyance facility operated
or maintained by the Village, including, but not limited to, retention/detention
ponds, ditches, storm sewers, roads and navigable and non-navigable
waterways.
Runoff curve number calculated per USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service and TR55 Methodology.
A residential structure containing two dwelling units.
A building or portion thereof used exclusively for residential
purposes, including one-family, two-family and multiple-family dwellings,
but not including hotels and boarding and lodging houses. Each dwelling
unit shall have lockable entrances and exits that allow for uninhibited
movement throughout the entire dwelling unit, one complete kitchen
facility, and, at a minimum, a bathroom and a living/sleeping area.
The unit by which a stormwater charge is calculated in this
chapter. It is based on the amount of runoff produced by a two-inch
rain event from an average residential parcel of 15,100 square feet
with an average impervious area of 18.21%.
That portion of any agricultural property which contains
one or more dwelling units, regardless of whether the dwelling units
are on a separate lot or parcel.
Used in the runoff calculation methodology promulgated by
the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service Engineering
Field Manual for Conservation Practices.
A surface that has been compacted or covered with a layer
of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by rainwater
or melting snow. It includes, but is not limited to, principal and
accessory structures, as well as streets, sidewalks, parking lots,
driveways and other similar surfaces. For purposes of this chapter,
all road, driveway or parking surfaces, including gravel surfaces,
shall be considered impervious, unless specifically designed to encourage
infiltration and approved by the Village Engineer.
Any legally created and described parcel of land.
A residential structure consisting of three or more dwelling
units.
Any lot except residential property as defined herein, including,
but not limited to, transient rentals (such as hotels and motels),
mobile home parks, commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental
property and parking lots.
Any land cover that permits rain or melting snow to soak
into the ground.
The extent and distribution of land cover types anticipated
to occur under conditions of full development of the submitted plan.
This term is used to match pre- and post-development stormwater peak
flows. A property is considered post-development after construction
is completed and final stabilization has occurred.
The extent and distribution of land cover types present before
the initiation of land development activity, assuming that all land
uses prior to land disturbing activity are in "good" condition as
described in the Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical
Release 55, " Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds" (commonly known
as "TR-55").
Any lot or farmstead home site developed exclusively for
residential purposes, including single-family units, duplex units,
multifamily units, but not including transient rentals (such as hotels
and motels) and mobile home parks.
Any residential property consisting of a single dwelling
house.
The municipal employee or contracted entity designated by
the Village Board as the local approval authority responsible for
administering this chapter.
A.
By this chapter, the Village Board is establishing
the basis for the rates that will be used to calculate and impose
a charge upon each parcel within the Village for services and facilities
provided by the Clean Water Utility consistent with this chapter,
with the exception of exemptions including agricultural land, public
right-of-way, and as prescribed by state law. Charges imposed under
this chapter are in addition to special assessments for new construction
imposed under this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
The amount of each charge to be imposed shall be made
by resolution. All rates established pursuant to this chapter will
be fair and reasonable. The current rates will be on file with the
Village Clerk.
C.
Charges shall be imposed to recover all or a portion
of the costs for the Clean Water Utility. Such charges shall include
the following components:
(1)
Base charge. The base charge shall be imposed on all
property in the Village with the exception of exemptions including
agricultural land, public right-of-way, and as prescribed by state
law. The base charge is designed to reflect the fact that all properties
benefit from Clean Water Utility activities of the Village and that
all properties contribute in some way to the clean water discharge
that must be managed by the Village. The base charge will be designed
to collect the administrative costs of the Clean Water Utility operations.
(2)
Equivalent runoff unit (ERU) charge. The ERU charge shall be assessed for each property or parcel in the Village based upon the ratio of calculated runoff from the property as set forth in § 148-7 to the standard ERU.
(3)
Project evaluation fee. A charge shall be imposed
on a property that is converted from undeveloped to developed or when
a property is part of a lot split. The fee will be established by
resolution.
D.
The Village Board may make such other classifications in accordance with § 148-6 as will be likely to provide reasonable and fair distribution of the costs of the Clean Water Utility.
A.
The Village Administrator or Village Engineer may
provide credits against the ERU, but not the base charge. Such adjustments
of stormwater fees shall not be made retroactively.
B.
To be entitled to consideration for a credit, the
property owner shall file an application, together with a review fee,
with the Village Engineer that is supported by documentation from
a professional engineer registered in the State of Wisconsin and demonstrates
the conditions of this section have been met. The application is subject
to review and approval of the Village Engineer. If the Village Engineer
needs additional engineering expertise to complete his review, the
Village Engineer can deny the application unless the property owner
agrees to pay for the necessary engineering services.
C.
Credits may be provided under the following circumstances:
(1)
A nonresidential property owner may seek a credit
on the ERU charge where he or she has installed and maintained facilities
that result in the retention and treatment of stormwater on site that
exceeds a suspended solids removal level established by the Village
Engineer. Credits to a maximum of 30% of the ERU charge will be based
on the percent of suspended solids removed over the limits established
by the Village Engineer.
D.
The Administrator may revoke the credit if the basis
for the credit has materially changed. The Administrator shall provide
at least 30 days' advance written notice of any proposed revocation.
A.
Basis for ERU charge. The Village shall calculate
the actual runoff value for each property within the Village except
for those portions of property which are exempt. The ERU charge shall
be the multiple of the actual runoff value for each property compared
to the standard ERU value.
B.
Calculation of actual runoff value.
(1)
For each property or parcel within the Village, the
Village shall calculate the ratio of impervious area to total property
size based upon data from the Village's Geographic Information System
(GIS), or where such data is not available or is out of date, the
Village Engineer may calculate the ratio from other reliable data.
In the case where a property or parcel does not have any impervious
area, the calculations shall be performed without an impervious area.
(a)
For residential property, impervious area is
calculated as the actual area of principal structures and out buildings
and an average value of 750 square feet for driveways, sidewalks and
other impervious areas.
(b)
For nonresidential property, impervious area
is calculated as the actual area of all impervious surfaces.
(2)
The Village shall calculate a runoff curve (CN) value
for each property by applying the ratio of impervious area to total
lot size to the calculated runoff curve for the Village. For composite
CN values, the most recent aerial photo or as determined from other
reliable and confirmable information shall be used. Ponds, lakes,
agricultural and wetlands will not be included in the calculations
of a composite CN value. Woods, brush and meadows will use the lowest
CN value as published in the TR55 publication.
(3)
The Village shall calculate the actual runoff value
for each property applying the CN value and a two-inch rain event
to the TR-55 runoff model.
A.
The property owner shall be responsible for submitting
a clean water utility service application at the time a building permit
is issued or a site plan review is conducted. The application shall
be made on a form prescribed by the Village and provided with each
application for a building permit or application for site plan review.
Failure to submit such clean water utility service application or
providing false information on such form shall be a violation of this
chapter.
A.
Clean Water Utility charges will be billed monthly,
with said charges to appear on the bill issued for municipal water,
sanitary sewer and solid waste service. Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to preclude the Clean Water Utility from billing
on a quarterly or annual basis for properties with minimum charges.
B.
The bills for Clean Water Utility charges shall be
mailed to the designated utility bill recipient, but this mailing
shall not relieve the owner of the property from liability for rental
property in the event payment is not made as required in this chapter.
The owner of any property served which is occupied by tenants shall
have the right to examine collection records of the Village for the
purpose of determining whether such charges have been paid for such
tenants, provided that such examination shall be made at the office
at which the records are kept and during the hours that such office
is open for business.
C.
If Clean Water Utility charges remain unpaid after
a period of 30 days from the date of the utility billing, such bill
shall be determined delinquent. The Village may collect delinquent
charges under §§ 66.0821(4) and 66.0809(3), Wis. Stats.
D.
All delinquent charges shall be subject to a penalty
of 1% per month in addition to all other charges, including prior
penalties or interest that exist when the delinquent charge is extended
upon the tax roll.
A.
The Clean Water Utility charge, a determination of
ERUs or ERU credits may be reconsidered by filing a written request
for reconsideration with the Village Clerk prior to the utility charge
due date if not paid, or within 30 days of payment. The request shall
specify all bases for the challenge and the amount of the Clean Water
Utility charge the customer asserts is appropriate. Failure to file
a timely request waives all right to later challenge that charge or
other decision. Unless greater than 10%, no change will be made.
B.
The Village Engineer will determine whether the charge
is fair and reasonable, or whether a refund or re-evaluation is due
the customer. The Village Engineer may act with or without a hearing,
and will inform the customer in writing of his or her decision.
C.
If the Village Engineer determines that a refund is
due the customer, the refund will be applied as a credit on the customer's
monthly utility account, or will be refunded at the discretion of
the Finance Director.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
A.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Village Engineer under § 148-10 may appeal to the Village Board within 30 days from the date of a decision.
B.
Appeal procedure.
(1)
A notice of appeal setting forth the specific grounds
for the appeal shall be filed with the Village Engineer and the Village
Clerk. The Village Clerk shall forthwith transmit to the Village Board
the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
(2)
The Village Clerk shall fix a reasonable time for
the hearing of the appeal and publish a Class 2 notice thereof under
Ch. 985, Wis. Stats., as well as give due notice to the parties in
interest. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent
or attorney. The Village Board shall:
(3)
Hearing process.
(a)
In general. The Village Board shall preside
over a hearing under this section and shall take evidence on the reasons
why the charge, ERU credit or other ERU determination should not be
upheld.
(b)
Burden of proof. The customer shall have the
burden to prove why the order should not be upheld.
(c)
Record. At any hearing held pursuant to this
section, testimony taken must be under oath and recorded. Records
from the proceeding will be made available to any member of the public
or any party to the hearing upon payment of the usual charges therefor.
A stenographic record will not be taken unless requested and paid
for by the customer.
(4)
The Village Board may, in conformity with the provisions
of this chapter, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the
order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may
make such order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to
be made, and shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the
appeal is taken.
(5)
The vote of a majority of the Village Board shall
be necessary to reverse the decision of the Village Engineer.
(6)
A fee as set forth by resolution will be charged for
all appeals.
[Amended 8-17-2020 by Ord. No. 20-31]
A.
In addition to any other method for collection of
the charges established pursuant to this chapter for Clean Water Utility
costs, the Village Board finds that these charges may be levied on
property as a special charge pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis.
Stats. The mailing of the bill for such charges to the owner will
serve as notice to the owner that failure to pay the charges when
due may result in a lien on the property enforced pursuant to § 66.0627(4),
Wis. Stats.
If any provision of this chapter is found to
be illegal, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect.
